MtlBiker

Thank you! I hadn't thought of doing it that way. Sounds like it'll work well. Any thought on whether I can use the calfskin leather (that's already finished) for the lining or should I use a thinner veg tan?

I just made my first leather pouch using 4-5 oz finished leather (no idea what it was called) and it turned out fairly well. But I've got some 3-4 oz veg tan leather arriving today and I'd like to try wet-forming another small pouch. But I'd also like the inside of the pouch to have a lining, mainly to hide the belt loop stitching (or rivets) and the front flap snap. If I wet form the front of the pouch first, I imagine that it might be tough (impossible?) to glue a lining to it afterwards. And if I glue it before wet forming, would that work? Or would the contact cement prevent or affect the wet forming? And if I do glue first, I'd also have to have the belt loop already attached as well as the front snap installed. I have some thin pieces of calfskin (?) that is already black which I thought might make a good lining. These were scraps I got from a leather supplier. The item I want to wet form for is a small metal RFI-shielded credit card holder... not very thick. It's about 1/4" thick and 2 1/2" x 3 3/4". So it's not extreme moulding that's needed. Just something to get my feet, uh, my leather, wet. So, what should I line my 3-4 oz veg tan with? Should I die and mould it before gluing a lining? Would it work to mould the outer and then glue the thin calfskin to the interior? Or should I buy some 2-3 oz veg tan for the interior and if so, should I glue the two parts together before moulding? (After having attached the belt loop and front snap?) Thanks for any advice.

From what I can tell, there are only 3 Tandy stores left in Canada. And while I agree that it's possible one of them does have a bottle of the dye in stock, the shipping would certainly cost more than the dye itself. I do have some dye (not the best kind I'm told) and I will try to get the Fiebing's when I next need to order something so that the shipping costs are spread over several items. And it's possible that I've found an online place in Ottawa which may have the dye in stock (at least their website says they do).

Because I've been told that for wet moulding (what I want to do) only natural untreated veg tan leather works.

No problem, but we're going around in circles here. In the message you replied to, I said that Tandy Leather is sold out of Fiebing's Dye (regular or pro). And now you're suggesting I call Tandy Leather. I guess you're suggesting that one of the (few) remaining Tandy stores might have some dye in stock even though their website says it's all sold out. I do have some dye coming from Tandy and as a beginner it'll probably get me going. I'm still waiting for my first order from Tandy to arrive (6 days and counting since it shipped from Toronto to Montreal) and if a store had a bottle left, it would probably cost me more for shipping than the cost of the dye. So I'll wait until I need something else and check again. Someone else suggested there's a leather store in Ottawa that might have it, and their website suggests they do. I might order from there together with some other stuff. But the photo of the pro dye they show looks very different than the one on the Tandy site and the Tandy site says something about it being new and improved. Shrug. One might really be new and improved (and sold out) while the other is old unimproved stock. I'm just going to wait at the moment. Thanks for your suggestions though.

Wow! What an interesting idea! Thanks for mentioning that. What do you use as a top coat/sealer? But "Vinegaroon"???? Wikipedia says, "Vinegaroons have no venom glands, but they have glands near the rear of their abdomen that can spray a combination of acetic acid and caprylic acid when they ..."

The problem with experimenting as a total novice, is that it's hard to tell if the results are good or not. That's why I was asking here... if I can try proven products first, it would give me something to compare with later if/when I experiment with other things. I had no idea that folks also use products that they buy in hardware stores which are not designed for leather. Interesting! I will certainly do my share of experimenting, once I get a little more experience under my belt. Are "oil based dyes" what you get with Fiebling's Pro dyes? Cheers!

My local store? As far as I can tell, there is no local store that carries this product. I've been to the only two local places that sell leather and neither has tools nor dyes, etc. And the online sources I've checked (OA Leather, Tandy) don't have it. And other online sources I checked don't have the Pro version. I just got a tip via PM about a place somewhere in Canada that very likely has it. In any case, I've got that stuff I ordered from Tandy (Eco-Flo) arriving today. And as a total beginner, at least it will help me get started.

Mop n Glow???? I guess you're not kidding. I wanted to buy the Fiebing's leather dye, but Tandy Leather (Canada) is completely sold out (both regular and pro versions). That's why I ordered the Eco-Flo instead. It's not easy to know what to buy (or even what you'll need) when you're a total beginner with leather like I am. I wouldn't have imagined that the Fiebing's Aussie Leather Conditioner could be used to top coat or seal the leather. I'll put some on my next order to try. Thanks very much for your comments!

Thanks very much for your comments. I'd ordered some "Eco-Flo Satin Shene" from Tandy Leather a few days ago and I'm waiting for it to arrive. But as far as putting die onto the leather, what are the pros/cons of using paint, dye or stain? I see that all those are available in black. I'll be using some veg tan leather for my little project and I want the final thing to be black. If I'm not mistaken, paint would be used to paint some parts of the leather or make a design, so it probably wouldn't be a good choice for making my black pouch. Dye or stain might be good but I don't know what the differences are between them. (Total beginner with leather here.)

Most helpful reply! Thanks very much. On the top edge of the front piece of your pouch (the one hidden by the closed flap) did you do anything to finish the edge? Just edge polish (if that) or something else? And if you did edge polish that top edge, did you do it before sewing it onto the gusset? I'd imagine it could be very difficult to polish that edge once the pouch is fully assembled. I'll certainly check out those videos. Thanks again.

Before getting your reply, yesterday I ordered the burnishing tool from Tandy (Canada) as well as what they call "TandyPro Burnishing Solution". I've got to start somewhere.

Merci beaucoup Klara! I found a burnisher at Tandy Leather Canada's website for $13.50, plus some veg tan leather that I can experiment with. Are you sewing leather by hand or machine? Do you need a groover either way? Or only for when sewing by hand? Interesting idea though about using ballistic nylon for polishing the edges. I'll give that a try also. There must be such grooved discs available for dremel tools. Sounds like it would make the job much easier. Cheers!

I'm ordering some veg tan leather and will want to make some pouches which should be black when finished. Checking the Tandy Leather (Canada) site, I see there are paint, dye and stain choices? What are the pros/cons of one over another? After using something to make the leather black, is that it, or does some kind of top coat / sealer need to be applied? Thanks!

OA Leather has a burnisher for $42... is that something special or (especially) for a novice would something like this from Amazon be just as good? Likewise for burnishing the edges, they have a Wax Biscuit for $3, and Amazon has Seiwa Tokonole for $19 plus import fees (shipping from Japan). I don't know what I need.

You're right! I didn't know or understand the difference between milled leather and non-milled. And the one I ordered has a soft temper. I guess I'll have to place another order, before even receiving the first. Very nice pouch you made there! Is it lined? I think I see stitching around the edge of the flap. Were you machine or hand stitching? It looks very good. And I'll have to also order some veg tanned leather so that I can mould it. Do I have it right that first I mould, then maybe trim to the right size to fit the back piece, then dye it, stitch it, and finish by burnishing the edges? Or have I got that wrong? Thanks again for your kind help.

That’s exactly what I said I ordered! By stand on their own, you just mean a fairly rigid pouch, or something else? Is it correct that only veg tan can be wet formed?

No, Amazon Canada is pretty easy. But 12 x 12 sounds awfully small. I looked at some veg tan leather today but all they had was full “pieces” of 13 to 16 sq feet and it was about 6 oz. too thick (I think) for what I want to make (with machine sewing) and too expensive for this beginner. i ended up with some scraps, some about 5 oz and the others 2.5 to 4 oz. enough for me to experiment. But the fellow told me the only leather that can be wet formed was veg tan. He said he would have some thinner about 3 oz in two or three weeks. (Just looked at Amazon…. It’s much more expensive that the leather place I visited today. Three to four times more expensive. They quoted $6.80 per sq ft for 5 to 6 oz veg tan and said the thinner stuff was less.)

Well, I’ve got some leather needles for my Consew 206RB-5 and Techsew 2750 Pro… I’m pretty sure that they’ll do me for the near and foreseeable future. If I find I need a more heavy duty leather machine sometime later, well, maybe. For now I just want to get my feet wet with leather.

I placed my first leather order yesterday, and I hope I ordered some good stuff. I didn't see natural vegetable tanned leather on that site (OA Leather Supply) but I ordered Sepici Leather - Spade Milled Black 3-4oz × 1 and S.B. Foot - Dove 69 Black 5-6oz × 1 as well as two "mystery bundles". And later today I'll be visiting the a local leather supplier where I hope to see and touch various leathers and hopefully get some advice. The learning begins! Thanks for all the help!

Gee, you'd think a company would list somewhere on their website which country they're in! You're not kidding about Google being our friend... thank you for that link. I'm going to place a small order to start with. Here in Canada, 3/4 usually means three quarters, and 3-4 would mean 3 to 4 oz. And then the Brits probably have yet another way to say it!

@Bert03241 Thanks for those links, Bert. But the problem remains that as a novice I really don't know exactly what to order for my first project. And it would be really great if I could see the choices in person, and talk to someone, before buying sight-unseen on the Internet. (And most folks in the States just don't realize the hassles we often go through to bring things into Canada from the States... high shipping costs, shipping delays, extra charges like brokerage, often duties, etc. So it's really preferable for us if at all possible to buy within Canada.) The first link you gave ships from China and the thickness of the leather isn't mentioned. And most of the other links are from the States, again complicating things with shipping and duty etc. to get it into Canada. And none of the 3 Canadian sources you listed are within 300 miles of me (most much further) so again I'm faced with buying sight-unseen. I did find a company here in Montreal that I plan to visit on Monday morning, Boilard Leather. I hope to see the various choices and to get some advice. @mike02130 - Great advice, thanks! That's actually what I had in mind... keeping it simple and the pouch I posted was just to show the approximate size and purpose of what I wanted to make as my first project. I hadn't planning on putting a binding on the edge with leather. And that leather supply link you gave looks like a really terrific place. But I couldn't find anywhere on their site where (which country) they are in. They offer payment options in multiple different currencies but I'd much prefer to buy from a Canadian source than have it shipped from another country. But it sure looks like they have what I'd need. When you say to buy their "3/4 oz" leather, do you really mean three-quarters of an ounce? I was told earlier that the 2 to 3 oz leather would be too thin for what I need. @Hardrada - Thanks very much!

I'm afraid I'm such a newbie with leather that I don't understand what "kip" is. I'd like to be able to form my pouch and I'd like it to stay fairly firm. Here's the kind of pouch I want to make (as a first leather project)... It's just to hold my shielded metal credit card holder and I plan to have a belt loop on the back and a snap closure. It probably doesn't need any lining. And I'd like the finished item to be black. What kind of leather would you suggest for it? I'll be machine sewing. Thanks!

As a total newbie with leather, I really don't care where the leather comes from. And I'd certainly not have the experience really to tell one quality from another. At this point, I simply want leather thick enough to do my project as something to learn from. So as long as the leather I get is suitable, I'd get the least expensive I can source. I really need experience under my belt before I start working with higher quality ($) products. Thank again for your help.

Thanks very much Klara! I appreciate your effort to be helpful. So, there's European leather and Argentinian leather... No Canadian or US leather? Surely there must be. And the other one that was on my link was Indian.